


Hieroglyphics

by Celosia



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Demigods, F/M, Mythology - Freeform, Tumblr Prompt, aphrarepairweek2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 03:17:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19098655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celosia/pseuds/Celosia
Summary: Alfred is an archaeologist that has set out to explore and study an ancient Egyptian temple that had just been discovered. What he finds there...he definitely wasn’t expecting.





	Hieroglyphics

“Man… I wish I could’ve worn different shoes for this…” Alfred mumbled to himself, taking off one of his boots and pouring sand out of it for the third time that hour. “All in the name of science, I guess.”

 

Sighing, he slipped the boot back on and held up his flashlight to view the rough map that he had been sketching out of the temple as he explored. So far, there hadn’t been too much of interest that hadn’t already been seen among the other Egyptian temple that he had ended up exploring. There was certainly a lot of sand that had blown in everywhere in the first rooms, but despite that, all of the statues had been in remarkably pristine condition considering the fact that they were thousands of years old.

 

They weren’t what Alfred had gone there to explore though.

 

No, his job was more as a translator. Exploring to try to find the various hieroglyphics and write them down and take pictures of them so that he could bring them back to his camp and translate them.

 

Of course, that didn’t mean that he completely liked  _ every _ aspect of his job. After all, everybody that he worked with knew about his fear of ghosts and spirits, and that ended up turning into his colleagues making jokes about Alfred ending up being accidentally cursed by triggering one of the ancient curses that had been laid to protect the tombs of the pharaohs. It always left him shivering and hesitant to even step foot into any of the places they were going to explore.

 

Even now, a shiver ran down his spine just thinking about it, but Alfred merely shook his head and pushed forward. It didn’t help either that the light of his flashlight would often end up catching the shine of cat eyes.

 

Actually, now that he thought about it as he entered the next room, there were a  _ lot _ of cats roaming about. Several of them stared unblinkingly at Alfred while others hissed and ran to a different room. None of them would let him close enough to pet them though.

 

Sighing, Alfred shook his head.  _ There are probably just a lot of mice or rats that hide out here, and that’s why there’s so many cats. It’s probably just really good hunting grounds for them… Even though they were often known for protecting the spirits of the dead… _

 

A loud noise echoed from one of the adjacent rooms, causing Alfred to nearly jump out of his skin. Whirling around, he shined the flashlight around the area, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

 

Something on one of the walls did end up catching his eye though. On the wall next to a closed door, there was a carving that looked to be a cartouche, multiple hieroglyphics inscribed within the oval.

 

“Alright! Now we’re getting somewhere!” Alfred exclaimed, jogging over to the wall. Before he could get close enough to read the writing though, blue eyes widened in surprise when a sword suddenly flashed in front of him and blocked his path.

 

“ _ Begone, intruder, _ ” a soft voice hissed out.

 

Gulping as he stared down at the point of the sword, Alfred held his hands up in front of him. “I, uh, was under the impression that this place was abandoned? Other than the cats, I mean. Plus I’m here on a job, so I can’t exactly leave just yet--”

 

“So you’ve come here to raid the temple, have you?” the voice asked, anger apparent as the tip of the sword moved closer to his throat.

 

Alfred wished that he could turn his head to see who--or  _ what _ (the thought that the speaker wasn’t human gave him shivers)--was speaking, but he didn’t want to risk taking a sword through his neck. “No, no! It’s nothing like that at all!”

 

There was a pause. “Then why have you intruded upon sacred ground?”

 

“For knowledge, and to learn of and from the past. I’ve only come here to study the writings,” Alfred explained, sweat trickling down the back of his neck, but he didn’t dare to move to wipe it away. “I haven’t come to steal anything, I swear.”

 

There was a long moment of silence, but then the figure moved to stand in front of him, and if he weren’t so afraid of coming across as rude, his jaw would’ve dropped at the sight of the young woman in front of him. She was otherworldly beautiful with caramel-colored skin and long black hair that contrasted greatly to the white dress that she was wearing. Her amber eyes though… They were slitted like a cat’s and seemed to match the golden jewelry that she wore. Then there was the matter of the sword that was still pointed at him, but his mind was currently preoccupied with other thoughts at the moment.

 

It was like he was looking at someone who had just stepped straight out of ancient Egypt.

 

“Uhh-- I, umm--”

 

“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue,” the young woman asked, just the faintest hint of a teasing smile playing on her lips. But that might’ve just been Alfred’s imagination. She tilted her head towards the hieroglyphics on the wall that he had originally been heading towards. “Can you read them?”

 

Blinking in surprise, Alfred nodded his head. “Yeah, for the most part.” He quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts. “Wait wait wait, who  _ are  _ you? And what are you doing in here?”

 

She tilted her chin up at him. “My brother and I are two of the guardians of this temple. We make sure that the tombs within this sacred ground remain undisturbed and that humans don’t go where they’re not supposed to. That’s why we’ve been watching you since you stepped foot within these walls…”

 

Alfred raised an eyebrow as he tried to wrap his mind around several of the things that the girl had just said.  _ Guardians? Humans? Is she not human? She has a brother? But she’s alone… She’s been watching me? _

 

Finally, she lowered the sword, placing a hand to her chest. “You may call me Sanura. I am the daughter of Bastet. And this is my brother Gupta. He is the son of Anubis.” She gestured to the spot on the other side of the door. When Alfred moved the light of his flashlight to the spot that she had indicated, it was empty.

 

“Umm…”

 

Tilting her head, Sanura turned towards the door, her face deadpanning when she noticed that her brother was indeed not there. “I’m going to kill him. He always does this…” A sigh fell from her lips as she turned to face Alfred once more.

 

“Sooooo…” Actually, this was a perfect opportunity for Alfred. “If you’re supposed to be guarding this place, does that mean you know the entire layout and everything that’s in here? What about all of the writings on the walls? Are you able to read everything that’s on the walls? Like, all of the hieroglyphics, I mean. Well, obviously that’s what I’d mean, since that’s the only writing there is… Do you know what the purpose of this temple was in the first place? You mentioned something about it being a sacred ground and there being tombs within the building, so is it a burial site of an ancient priest or priestess or past ruler?” That was when something that Sanura had said clicked, his eyes going wide. “Wait--  _ You and your brother are descended from gods? _ ”

 

A sheepish smile spread across her face as she giggled, the sound making a blush creep up Alfred’s cheeks. “Yes, that tends to be the case,” she murmured, holding out her arms for a snow white cat to jump into them.

 

“So the ancient gods are real?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Are you sure? This isn’t some sort of prank, is it?” Alfred asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. Part of him definitely felt like the other researchers would try to set up some sort of prank like this.

 

“I’m quite sure, Alfred,” Sanura said, stroking the cat’s ears.

 

“Wait...how do you know my name?” Regardless, Alfred decided that he liked the way his name sounded when she said it.

 

An amused smile pulled at her lips. “You said it when you had been talking to yourself earlier when you were trying to convince yourself that ghosts aren't real.”

 

Alfred laughed, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.  _ So she had heard that… I’m guessing that she’s heard everything that I’ve said since I’ve been here… _

 

Sanura’s smile fell as her expression became more serious. “Why did you come here, Alfred?”

 

“I told you--”

 

But she was already shaking her head, amber eyes intense as she stared up at him. “That’s not what I mean. I mean, why did they send  _ you _ in particular to do this job? Alone, no less. I’ve had to run off my fair share of thieves and tomb raiders and scientists, and they had always been in  _ at least _ pairs. But you… They sent you alone. Do you know why?"

 

"Uhhhh-- Well, I mean, I've always worked better alone, plus I'm the only one that's been able to read and translate all of the other…" Alfred trailed off when Sanura started shaking her head.

 

“Yes, you’re able to read and translate everything, but that’s not the main reason. It’s because you’re the only one of them that would be able to make it to the inner sanctums and end up opening a path for them.” Sanura paused, staring at him with a slight frown. “I hadn’t been completely sure of it when I first saw you, but now that you’re here, there’s no mistaking it: you have a link to the gods. Whether it’s merely that you’ve been blessed by one of them or you’re a demigod yourself, I can’t tell. But there’s a magic around you that’s nullified any of the curses or traps that would’ve been sprung had it been any of the others venturing through here. Even just having one of  _ them  _ in your vicinity would’ve prevented the magic from working.” She paused again, but this time because the cat in her arms rubbed its face against her cheek.

 

Alfred took this moment to finally speak up. “Wait wait wait, so you’re saying that I’m connected to the gods somehow and have some sort of magic...aura that’s been keeping me from getting cursed or killed by spooky booby traps. And the people that I’m working with somehow know this and that’s why they’ve been sending me into these places all alone? Why would they do that?” he asked, though he was pretty sure that he had a pretty good idea of why they would.

 

"We've dealt with their company before," Sandra stated solemnly. "They go around taking ancient artifacts and trying to raise spirits from the dead or a whole bunch of other things depending upon the type of artifact that they get their hands on… You wouldn't be the first person that they've tricked into helping them further their goals, so try not to be too hard on yourself...” She trailed off slightly, glancing back at the inscription of hieroglyphics on the wall that Alfred had been trying to read just a little while earlier. “...You said you came here for knowledge, and to learn of the past, yes?”

 

Really, everything that he was being told felt like it was a bit hard to swallow, but there was something in his gut, in his instincts, that told him that she was being honest with him and that  _ she _ had no reason to lie to him about anything. The question caused him to raise an eyebrow, using one knuckle to push his glasses up from where they had begun to slip down his nose. “Yeah, that’s right. I think if more people knew about the past and didn’t forget about it or ignore it, then the world could become a lot better place than it is now. And I’d like to be one of the people that helps make that happen!”

 

A smile pulled at Sanura’s lips, as though he had given her a correct answer. “Would you like to read what the inscription says?”

 

Alfred’s face lit up with excitement. “Ah, really!? You’re gonna let me read it? Even after the whole  _ you’re actually working for an evil company _ revelation?”

 

“Your heart is pure, Alfred. I sense no evil in you nor your intentions. So yes, you may read it,” she said gently, stepping to the side and letting Alfred approach the wall.

 

His eyes eagerly scanned the lines on the wall, only for his smile to eventually fade into confusion as he read what was written there. “It...sounds almost like a love letter? Sort of? But why would there be a love letter in a temple like this?”

 

“Well… It’s an epitaph, but yes, it does sound like a love letter, doesn’t it? Mother always was a romantic…” Sanura turned to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Alfred, a flush creeping up his cheeks when her arm brushed against his when she reached out a hand to point to the words. And then she  _ spoke _ , the ancient language flowing fluently from her tongue as though she was born knowing how to speak it.

 

_ Though _ , Alfred thought,  _ if her mother is really Bastet, then I suppose she must’ve. _

 

“ _ Here lies a king who died as he lived. A warrior in a blaze of glory, beloved of Bastet. For he loved only Her, never another. Warrior Goddess, forever at his side. Eternally Her Blood will protect him, his soul, within these walls until they meet again… For there is no life She would rather live than one spent at his side forevermore...” _ Sanura trailed off, a small content smile on her face as she let her arm fall to her side, the cat she had been holding jumping down with an annoyed huff before it trotted away. She paid it no mind though. “You know, poetry is perhaps the greatest forgotten treasure of ancient Egypt.”

 

“Yeah…” Alfred murmured, his gaze drifting from the wall to down at the woman standing beside him. He desperately wished that he could stay there longer and talk with her more, but he knew that he needed to be getting back to the camp, even though he had very strong reservations about even going back there. “So what am I supposed to do? If they’re trying to steal artifacts and corrupt souls or whatever?”

 

When she looked up at him, Alfred’s breath seemed to catch in his throat with the intensity of her gaze. “Run away. You go back, and in the middle of the night, you disappear. Head to Cairo. There will be people there to help you.”

 

"Wait!" Alfred exclaimed, grabbing hold of her wrist when she started to turn and walk away. "What about you? I mean-- Will I see you again? What if I can't get away from them?"

 

Sanura paused, her expression thoughtful as she gazed at their linked hands. Slowly, she pulled one of the pendants that she was wearing out of her shirt, slipping it over her head and pressing it into Alfred's hand. The golden metal of the pendant was warm to the touch. "If you ever find yourself in trouble, hold this to your heart and say  _ I summon thee, o Daughter of Bastet  _ and I will be by your side to protect you."

 

Alfred stared at the glimmering metal before nodding and slipping it on, tucking it safely away under his shirt. "Thank you… I wish there was a way to repay you."

 

"There's no need," she murmured. "Travel swiftly and may the stars be your guide."

 

Hesitating for a few more moments, Alfred nodded, flashing her a big smile before jogging back through the temple. Watching him go, Sanura sighed, her shoulders heaving as she looked down at one of the cats that was rubbing against her ankle.

 

"You like him."

 

Deadpanning, Sanura turned toward the voice of her brother, seeing him standing against the wall. Sunglasses were propped on his nose and a fashionable green scarf was wrapped around his neck. His outfit was admittedly far more modern than Sanura's. At his feet sat a black jackal, his father's animal companion. The animal's tongue was hanging out of the side of her mouth as she stared up at Sanura and wagged her tail.

 

"And? Where were you, Gupta?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

 

Shrugging, Gupta held up a tray with three coffee cups in it, the fourth in his other hand. "I showed up fifteen minutes late with Starbucks."


End file.
